Battle of Tokunoshima
The Battle of Tokunoshima was a military engagement fought between the Ryukyu Republic and the Communist Party of Japan during the opening stages of the Ryukyu War. The battle was waged for control over Tokunoshima Island, a part of the Ryukyu Islands and part of the Ryukyu Republic, and was attacked by the CPJ to control the region. If taken, the island could be used for bombing runs over Okinawa and the rest of the republic's lands and thus was targeted to be captured. The operation was carried out by the 19th Rifle Division of the 18th Army under the command of General Saionji Hiroaki and was opposed by the 22nd Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Tsujii Jurobei. The battle lasted two weeks and ended in a communist victory, but the event resulted in the intervention of the postwar Japanese State fearing the collapse of the republic if they stood by. Background After a buildup of tensions between the Ryukyu Republic and Communist Party of Japan, war between the two nations kicked off on May 4th, 2201 following the outbreak of the Battle of Amami Ōshima, a major naval and later land engagement between the Ryukyu Defense Forces and Japanese Liberation Army. On the island of Tokunoshima, the 22nd Infantry Regiment was ordered to mobilize to defend the island in preperation for a potential communist invasion. The regiment during peacetime stood at less than 900 men, but rose to over 2,000 due to reserves being called up. Among the few significant assets the defenders did have were three artillery batteries in mountains the center of the island, as well as 12 tanks. Unlike the highly mountainous Amami-jima, Tokunoshima had a wide area of flat land surrounding the mountains, on which armored vehicles could maneuver. For this reason, the tanks were allocated in the hope that they could be used to push back an invasion force. When landings of JLA forces from Amami began and a beachhead was established, General Saionji Hiroaki of was called to lead the 19th Rifle Division to capture the island with support from the 4th Air Army, mainly the 17 Air Regiment, to support the landings and take the island. Communist Landings The battle for the island began on May 14th with a series of bombings from makeshift long-range bombers being used by the JLA's Air Force, mainly the 17th Air Regiment of the 4th Air Army and bombed all identified structures on the island, both civilian and military, and softened up the island's defenses. While the bombing run only inflicted minor civilian and military casualties, it did destroy one of the buildings that housed the regiment's ammunition and much of their artillery was either destroyed or disabled and needed to be repaired. The bombing damaged the Tokunoshima airfield, which held only ten propeller-driven aircraft. While three did get airborne, they were quickly shot down by CPJ jets, nd the remainder were either destroyed on the ground or rendered unable to take off and later captured. The communications center was temporarily knocked out and while reconstruction efforts began immediately after the bombings, the short period of time allowed for the landing of at least 3,000 Communist troops at Tetehama on the north side of the island in the first wave. The regiment could only mobilize half of its strength at 1,000 troops total and was outnumbered 3 to 1 at the beginning of the landings. Despite this disadvantage, the 22nd Regiment pulled up surviving artillery pieces and fired them on the landing zones and successfully destroyed four boats four vehicles, one makeshift tank, and killed over 50 soldiers while injuring another 150 in the process. More JLA casualties were caused when the nine surviving pre-war tanks were quickly deployed to the north shore of the island. The fire from the tanks held back the JLA landing for about 15 minutes, before four Ryukyuan tanks were destroyed by fire from JLA warships, and the rest were forced to retreat. By the end of the day, the remaining guns on the mountaintop battery on the north side of the mountains, and the JLA held a beachhead on the north side of the island. Ryukyuan Defenses Colonel Jurobei was fully aware that he was outnumbered and would have to take controversial measures in order to slow down the communist advance and potentially bog them down on the island similar to that of the Ryukyuan forces on Amami. The regiment had now mobilized its entire 2,000+ man strength and many civilian volunteers organized into a local militia, though they were only given minimal training and would be kept as second line units. Militia casualties were only identified via known documents they carried such as driver's licenses or membership cards towards specific political parties that were active in the Ryukyu Republic. With the Ryukyuan force pushed back from the northern part of the island, Colonel Jurobei ordered the members of the 22nd Regiment to dig in along the narrow strips of relatively flat land between the east and west flanks of the mountain Amagi-dake and the coast. These effectively acted as chokepoints. The entrenched the RDF forces repelled a the first CPJ assault on May 15th, the tanks proving valuable against the infantry and light vehicles that included most of the landed Communist forces. On the 15th and into the 16th, however, RDF defenses were battered by CPJ gunboats and other warships offshore and bombed by aircraft. On the 15th, the CPJ also managed to land two platoons of Type 73 tanks, a total of eight vehicles. On May 16th, the CPJ launched an attack on the east chokepoint, which had a larger strip of land near the sea, spearheaded by all seven tanks. While a tank and seven other vehicles, as well as 60 CPJ infantry were killed, the RDF forces sustained about 80 KIA and four tanks destroyed, and were forced to retreat. By midday, the CPJ had taken the town of Ritsuzan, while the RDP placed troops to the south of the town on a second defensive line, which held out for four hours before being breached at 1600 hours. With only 200 troops, including both regulars and militia south of Ritsuzan, Jurobe realized he could not continue to hold both the east coast and Amagi, as such, Jurobe gambled that the CPJ forces would attempt to take the closer fort of Amagi, and ordered the surviving troops to defend the pass though the island's central mountains east of Amagi, one of two major towns on the island. Meanwhile, 450 troops and the last two RDF tanks on the island defended chokepoint on the west side Amagi-dake. The south of the island was defended by mostly by militia, but also by the four 105mm guns and two 155mm guns, which were spread between the central and south shore batteries, located in the central mountain spine of Tokunoshima. While the guns lay in wait, regulars and militia alike prepared what defenses they could, digging trenches, blocking roads, and placing mines and IEDs made from whatever explosives were available. Defense of Amagi While the eastern flank had been breached on May 16th, the west chokepoint, which had a narrower gap between the sea and the mountains, held out through the day, pushing back multiple CPJ attempts to break through. The chokepoint, however, had come under heavy fire from CPJ gunsboats and assault ships. These vessels, armed with heavy guns and MLRS launchers, were able to fire on the Ryukyuan positions while staying out of range of any Ryukyuan artillery remaining on the north end of the island. After a night of heavy bombardment, the CPJ forces attacked at 0800 hours on May 17th, and, after about 20 minutes of fighting, forced the surviving Ryukyuan forces to retreat back to the next line of defense, which was ran along a stream flowed west and exited near Matsubara, to the north of Amagi. East of Matsubara, the defensive line was placed along a small escarpment about 20-30 meters in height. The CPJ attack on the Matsubara line came on at 930 hours. Fortunately, militia force in the town had set up trenches and firing positions, placed mines, and blown the main bridge over the stream. The 300 or so regular RDF force remaining took up positions along the stream, their two remaining tanks being placed into overwatch positions on the escarpment. When the attack came, the CPJ forces coming out of the chokepoint suffered about 100 KIA from machine guns, mortar, and tank fire, but in the end, the eight CPJ tanks and dozen or so APCs (both purposes-built and improvised) managed to break through, with the tanks suppressing RDF strongpoints and destroying one of the tanks, as well as four other vehicles. As the CPJ moved closer to Matsubara, their overwhelming firepower advantage only became greater. The last RDF tank was destroyed and, after holding them off for about 30 minutes. The retreat some four kilometers to the south to the main city of Amagi was prompted by the breakthrough of CPJ force at the pass to the east of the city, in order to avoid being flanked. The RDF defenders, who numbered about 300 RDF troops and 400 militia managed were engaged in heavy fighting in the streets of Amagi. By this point, the artillery of the central battery, in the mountains to the east could easily fire on the CPJ forces moving down in on the town, however, their fire was divided between supporting Amagi and the defense of the east coast. Nonetheless, the artillery fire allowed the Ryukyuans to hold off the CPJ forces for two hours, until the guns were finally silenced by air attack and fire from gunboats offshore. As the CPJ forces broke through east of Amagi, Colonel Jurobe barely escaped with 200 regulars and about as many militia. The remaining RDF forces in the city were surrounded and either killed or captured by the end of the day. The RDF retreated back to the next line of defense, to the Akirigami River. Unlike the stream north of Matsubara, the river had carved a gorge, up to about 60 meters deep. This would prove a much more significant obstacle for CPJ armor, and could not be easily forded by vehicles. After the RDF forces reached the south side of the river, Colonel Jurobe ordered the detonation of charges placed on the three main bridges over the gorge. Kametoku and the East Coast While their comrades fought in Amagi, on May 16th, about 100 RDF regulars and over 500 militia fought a delaying action against over 2000 CPJ troops, 12 APCs, and 10 tanks advancing on the main port of Kametoku. Not only were they outnumbered, but they were also outgunned, with the militia carrying whatever weapons were available, many of which included bolt-action or lever-action hunting rifles, shotguns, crossbows, police pistols (including older N80 10mms or M1911-type weapons, as well as revolvers), Molotov cocktails, improvised grenades, and in some cases nothing more than improvised melee weapons such as axes, machetes, and kama hand scythes. The few advantages they did have were their knowledge of the terrain, as well as some fire support from the central and south batteries. Nonetheless, the advance of the CPJ was slowed by repeated hit-and-run attacks and the use of IEDs, as well as the destruction of bridges and the heavy urban combat in the towns of Boma and Tokuwase. It was not until 1300 hours that the CPJ forces reached the outskirts of Kametoku. The defenders of Kametoku destroyed all of the bridges leading across river flowing into Kametoku harbor, forcing the CPJ , particular their armored vehicles to take a long route through dense forests to reach a crossing point. This left the vulnerable to IEDs and hit-and-run attacks with rocket launchers. Two CPJ tanks and six other vehicles were destroyed in these attacks, and over 100 CPJ troops were killed. Using the terrain to their advantage, the CPJ attack was halted from the 17th to the 19th of May. While CPJ fire and air attacks were heavy, the accuracy of fire from the gunboats offshore was reduced by sea mines that had been laid off of Kametoku harbor, preventing the gunboats from moving in close to provide accurate cover fire. With their movement halted, the CPJ were forced into a battle of attrition. Unfortunately for the Ryukyuans, this was a fight they were more than capable of winning, with their far superior firepower and numbers, they were able to whittle down the defenders to only about 250 in number and finally broke through on May 19th. The Fight for the Southern Third On May 17th, the CPJ held about 2/3 of Tokunoshima, but their advance was halted running by the Ryukyuans effective use of the terrain, on a line running from the Akirigami River gorge in the east, across the mountains to a line of dense forest on the western slope, and into the town of Kametoku. Here, the RDF held the Communist force at bay for three days, using the terrain to negate their advantage and in numbers and armored vehicles. They were also helped by the remaining artillery in the central and south batteries, includng three guns on the central and two of the south batteries. The battle of movement had changed to a battle of attrition. The Ryukyuans held out for three days, inflicting almost 300 CPJ KIA. Unfortunately for the Ryukyuans, this served only as a delaying action. While they suffered fewer casualties, the massively greater numbers of CPJ troops, which by this point numbered over 7000 meant they could keep fighting after sustaining casualties far more easily. In the end, on the 19th of May, the CPJ finally broke through the Ryukyuan lines to the east of Kametoku and began rapidly moving through the flatter terrain, mostly farmer's fields. By midday, it became apparently that his forces were in imminent danger of being outflanked by the Communists. In response to this, Jurobe initiated a plan he had in place since the invasion began. He deployed 200 of his best troops to reinforce the militia holding the pass to the east of the long along the Akirigami River. He then began a retreat his forces into the mountains on the southern tip of island, blowing bridges many bridges as possible as they went went. By 1400 hours, the last troops on the Akirigami River line were seven volunteers, placed at a in the mountains near a pre-war earthen dam holding back a lake. The dam had been rigged with as many explosives as Jurobe could spare, including C-4, dynamite, three 203mm artillery shells- otherwise useless as the gun had been destroyed, and a pair of aircraft bombs). At about 1420 hours, the last soldiers, lying hidden the forested mountains above the dam detonated the charges as CPJ infantry began to cross the river and their engineers began attempts to construct a temporary bridge out of scavenged steel and concrete. The explosion destroyed the dam, sending a torrent of water running down the Akirigami River gorge that killed over 150 CPJ infantry. Last Stand of the 22nd The destruction of the bridges, as well as the flood caused by the destruction of the dam held back the CPJ forces on the west side of the mountains for almost three days, with a bridge only being completed on May 21st, however, the east side of the island, which was more lightly defended, still had an intact route to the south of Kametoku. By 1700 hours on the 19th of May, the CPJ had cleared the coastline and taken the pass east of the Akirigami River. The only remaining RDF force were in the mountains near the batteries in the mountains, which by this point had all of their artillery guns destroyed. The CPJ assaulted south battery, which as surrounded on all sides by CPJ forces on the coast to the south and holding the pass to the north. After heavy fighting, the CPJ finally captured the battery, as well as the estimate 60 defenders. The 150 or so men on the central battery, located in the mountains near the peak of Hagedake managed to repel a CPJ infantry assault on the 20th, and again on the 21st, but, trapped on the mountain and low on ammunition, they were finally overrun on the 22nd of May, 2201. Over 80 RDF troops were killed in this battle, including Colonel Jurobe. While a handful of RDF troops (no more than 40) remained hidden in the mountains until the end of the war, most had been cleared by the 24th of May, when the CPJ officially declared victory. Aftermath The fall of Tokunoshima, along with Amami Oshima, which would be effectively completely in CPJ hands on June 7th led the postwar Japanese state to send a naval fleet, as well ground troops and air forces to support the Ryukyu Republic and prevent their capital of Okinawa from being overrun. The Japanese State reinforcements would not arrive until June 11th, after the CPJ had taken Okinoerabu-shima on June 5th, 2201. Category:Battles Category:Events